My Best Friend
by VeggieTales Gal
Summary: Hi! I'm Kiara Night Gale, and I'm going to tell you guys how I met my very best friend, Bakura, and how we became friends! Enjoy! *Note: The events of this story happen 2 years before the events of Duelist Kingdom.
1. I'm Late! I'm Late!

"Dang it, dang it, DANG IT! I'm going to be SO FRACKING LATE! I completely forgot that Bakura was coming over today, and on top of that, I spent so much time getting ready to go home, that I missed the bus back to the orphanage! I'm such a dimwit! Now Miss Marian and Bakura will be worried sick about me! AND I have to run! I hate my brain… and my low stamina…"

Hey there! I'm Kiara; Kiara Night Gale. I'm 11-years-old, I live in Domino City, and I'm an orphan, so I live in an orphanage. …Well, that's only half-true. You see, my father's still alive. He gave me up after trying to take care of me for a year, and my mother died in childbirth, so… He basically had no one to help him raise me. Miss Marian, who's kind of like a mother to me, tells me that he's very rich. Daddy and I care about each other a lot, though. We're pen pals! Every year for my birthday, he sends me loads of Duel Monsters cards, along with a cheque. The cheque is a really handsome donation to the orphanage. I really have no idea what Daddy's name is, though.

Daddy's also the one that gave me my Millennium Item: the Millennium Girdle. A girdle's kind of like a really fancy-dancy belt. I got the Millennium Girdle for my 10th birthday, along with Duel Monsters cards. The Millennium Girdle allows me to make physical contact with something or someone that I can see, but can't reach. For example, if I wanted to slap someone across the face, I'd just raise my hand, as though to hit something, focus on that person's cheek, and slap. However, I just can't shake the feeling that that's not all my Girdle does… Daddy tells me that he has a Millennium Item, too, and that someday, they'll bring us together. I can't wait!

Anyway, I finally reached the orphanage, severely out of breath. I practically keeled over. "Ha, ha… Can't… believe… ha… that I… ran all… ha… the way… from school… ha, ha… to the… orphanage…" I looked over to the door, and there he was: my very best friend, Bakura, just waiting there for me. With what little energy I had, I walked over to him and gave him a big hug. Bakura hugged me back.

"You're late, Kiara," Bakura said. "You should've been here 32 seconds ago. That's when the bus arrived." Bakura chuckled, impressed that I had run so fast. "Catch your breath, and then talk. Here, I got you a bottle of water while I waited." Bakura handed me a cold bottle of water. I gladly took it, and drank.

When I had finally caught my breath, I said, "Thirty-two seconds? Wow! That's amazing! I'm so great! Ha, ha!" My quickest so far was 1 minute and 7 seconds, so 32 seconds was quite a step. "Come on Bakura. Let's go inside." I took his lovely, pale, slender hand, and led him inside the orphanage. My home.


	2. An Orphan

"Welcome home, Kiara! Missed the bus again, I see. You always seem to do that whenever my nephew comes to visit." I laughed at Miss Marian's greeting. It was true, though: Bakura WAS Miss Marian's nephew and I DID miss the bus whenever he visited. It's REALLY weird. "Hello, Miss Marian!" I said, waving.

"Hello, Aunt Mary!" Bakura said, grinning and waving to him aunt. You see, Bakura only comes to visit when his dad's on a business trip, and since his mum is… um… no longer with us, he stayed at the orphanage with his aunt, Miss Marian. I always look forward to seeing Bakura. I mean, I don't have a crush on him or anything, it's just that… well… he's basically one of my only friends! He's like a brother to me, since I don't have any, and I'm like a sister to him, since his sister, Amane, died when he was six.

"Come on, Bakura! Let's go up to my room!" I said, grabbing Bakura's hand. We ran upstairs, and entered my room. My roommate, Akira Nefer, was already there, looking at sheet music. It looked like she was trying to write a song. "Hi, Akira!" I said, waving at her.

"Hello, Kiara. Bakura," Akira said, not looking up from her music. Yeah, Akira has that uncanny ability to tell if more than one person is entering a room. I have no idea if that makes sense, and I don't really care if it does.

Bakura! Let's play Duel Monsters! I got a bunch of new cards from Daddy! They're pretty awesome, but I haven't found anyone to try them out on, yet!" I suggested. It was true: my 11th birthday had been last Saturday, so, as always, I got new cards. Oh! My deck? My favourite deck that I own is my Dark Necrofear Deck. Anyway, I had lied about not finding anyone to try out my new cards on. In truth, I had been saving them for the next time I duelled Bakura.

"New cards, eh? Alright then! I can't wait to see them! I got some new cards, too! I've been saving them for this duel as well, Miss Kiara Night Gale!" Bakura had mischievous look on his face. Curses! He had seen through my lie! Oh well… Who cares!

"LET'S DUEL!" we said in unison.


	3. Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris

OK, first of all, I have to say that I forgot all about Bakura's favourite card, Change of Heart, for some stupid reason. Then, I was stupid enough to have 50 Life Points, Dark Necrofear and Newdoria on my field in Attack Mode at the same time, without having any Trap Cards on my field. Then, I was dumb enough to attack his Lady of Faith… Oh, who am I kidding? I WAS BEING AN IDIOT!

"Now I'll have my Dark Necrofear attack Lady of Faith! OH YEAH! Who's the faithful one, now?" I called out, overenthusiastic. Lord, I make bad jokes… Anyway, this was a very stupid move, as you are about to see. Why didn't I think over this move twice?

"Not so fast!" Bakura said. "I play a Trap Card! Changed of Heart!" Bakura flipped his card over, and I cringed. "Now, I think I'll take control of your Dark Necrofear, and have her attack Newdoria!" Dark Necrofear attacked and destroyed Newdoria. My Life Points hit 0. Bakura won the match. However, I couldn't have been happier.

"You did it, Bakura! You finally won a match against me! It took you 7 years, but you did it!" Both Bakura and I were over the moon, and we hugged like crazy. …I may have even kissed him on the cheek! Tee hee!

"…Wait, has it really been 7 years since we first?" Bakura asked. "It only seems like yesterday that we met, Kiara." Bakura started daydreaming. I can always tell when he's daydreaming, because he rests his elbow on the table, his chin on the palm of his hand, he smiles… rather creepily… and he stares at the place where the wall meets the ceiling.

"Nooooo," I said. "Yesterday, you were flying over from England with your father, and I was getting my room and deck ready. So, it definitely wasn't yesterday, Bakura." I knocked on Bakura's head. No response. "Bakura?" I asked. Still no response. I knocked harder. STILL no response. I furrowed my brow, and made it look like I was sweatdropping, like they do in anime. I grabbed a magazine (a Duel Monsters magazine, to be specific), rolled it up, and hit Bakura really hardly on the head, screaming, "WAKE UP, YOU SILLY LITTLE MAN!"

"OWWWWW!" Bakura shrieked. "What was that for? GEEZ! You hit twice as hard as Jack Bauer! That's half as hard as Chuck Norris!" Bakura rubbed the part of his head that I hit. Wow. Do I REALLY hit that hard? AWESOME!

"That's for basically falling asleep on me!" I said, pouting. The magazine, now unrolled, was still in my hand. It had a picture of Maximillion Pegasus on the cover, holding the blueprints to a technology that could produce holographic images of Duel Monsters. It was a genius idea. I was totally for it! I IDOLIZE Maximillion Pegasus! If I could pick any man in the world to be my father, it would be him!

Suddenly, Bakura asked me, "Hey, Kiara… Remember when we first met?" He was still rubbing his head. "You were just as aggressive…" Bakura said this very quietly, like he didn't want me to hear this, but I heard it alright.

"Why, thank you, Bakura!" I said, flattered by his comment. "And, of course I remember! How could I forget? You were the very first person who actually wanted to be friends with me! I'll never forget that fateful day…"


	4. The Boy With the Stark White Hair

It all started one fine day 7 years ago. I was only 4-years-old at the time, but even then, I was an exceptional duelist, filled with promise. I had already won a couple of the Little League Duel Monsters Tournaments in the area. It was like dueling was in my blood! However, I was lonely. I had no real friends, besides Akira Nefer, my roommate, but Akira's 3 years older than me. The closest thing I had to a friend was my Mystical Elf plushie that Daddy had sent me for my 2nd birthday, along with truckloads of Duel Monsters cards. However, that was all about to change…

BZZZZT! That was the sound that the doorbell made. "I'll get it, Miss Marian!" I said, running towards the front door. I opened the door, and the first thing I saw was a shy-looking boy with long, stark-white hair and big, blue eyes. He was looking down sadly and shyly. He looked about 7-years-old. The man standing next to him had long, cobalt-navy blue hair in a ponytail, a goatee, a bit of a moustache, blue eyes, glasses, and was wearing archaeological gear. "_An archaeologist,_" I thought. He looked… familiar, somehow.

"Hello! Welcome to the Domino City Orphanage!" I greeted the two of them. I turned to the man, and said, "Are you here to give up your son? Because I know where to find the papers for that!" Oh, COME ON, people! I was only 4! GEEZ! I didn't know better! Anyway, the young boy looked at his father, shocked and worried. "Daddy?" he whimpered.

The father smiled at his son, turned back to me, and said, "Nope, I'm not giving him up. I wouldn't dream of it! I'm actually looking for Marian Bakura. Do you know where she is? I'm pretty sure I've come to the right place…"

"Marian… Bakura?" I repeated, confused. "Oh! Do you mean Miss Marian? I'll be right back!" I ran to the kitchen, which is where Miss Marian usually is, and said very quickly, "Someone's here to see you, Miss Marian!"

"Thank you, Kiara," Miss Marian said. She took off her apron and oven mitts, took my hand, and walked back to the front door with me. When Marian saw who was at the door, she squealed, "BOBBYYY!" and threw herself into the man's arms. Suddenly, I realised why the man looked familiar.

"Is this your brother, Miss Marian?" I asked her. They looked exactly alike, aside from the fact that Miss Marian wasn't a man and didn't have manly features, she didn't have blue hair, and she was… erm… much larger than the man.

"Yes, Kiara. This is my brother, Robert, and this is my nephew, Ryo!" Miss Marian practically squealed. Robert waved to me, and I waved back, grinning.

"Auntie Mary, my name is Bakura!" Ryo exclaimed suddenly, startling all of us. "That's what everyone calls me at school, at least."

"Alright then, Bakura," Miss Marian said, chuckling. "Oh! Come on inside! I just baked a batch of cookies, so join me in the kitchen." As Bakura and Mr. Bakura entered, Miss Marian turned to me and said, "You are dismissed, Kiara. Thank you."

"OK, Miss Marian!" I said. I gave her a big hug, and ran off.


	5. Can't Get You Out of My Head

I was in my room, looking through my deck, trying to get my mind off of the boy with the stark-white hair. I just couldn't, though. "_Maybe talking to Akira will help,_" I thought. Akira was my roommate, even back then. "Akira," I said, looking to her.

"Hm?" she said, looking at me, a sleepy expression on her face. Sleepy… Dreams! I could ask her about her dreams! That should get my mind off of things!

"Akira, have you had any good dreams, lately? If so, I want to hear about them!" I said cheerfully. I wanted to hear all about anything that could get my mind off of Bakura, even if it was Akira's seriously odd, paranormal dreams.

"Actually, I have! Last night, I dreamt about a really hot guy. He had platinum gold hair, a really sexy tan, and was gorgeously muscular. He told me that his name was Marik, and that was would meet in the future! It was SO awesome!" Akira put on a fangirl face.

BOYS? GREAT! I should've kn… Wait a second. "Um… Wh-what does sexy mean?" I asked. Remember, I was only 4-years-old when this happened.

"It means SERIOUSLY good-looking," Akira said. Then, she started fangirling. Great. I should've known not to talk to a fracking fangirl when I'm trying NOT to think about boys. As Akira was busy fangirling, I snuck out of the room. I crept down the stairs and tip-toed over to the kitchen. I peered into the kitchen and managed to catch the last of the conversation between Miss Marian and Mr. Bakura.

"So, Mary, I'm going on a business trip, and I don't have anyone to take care of Ry - I mean, Bakura. Do you mind taking care of him for a week?" Mr. Bakura explained.

"I'd be delighted, Bobby! How does little Bakura feel about this?" Miss Marian asked, a big, warm smile on her face.

"It'll be an adventure! I'm a bit nervous, though… I've never been so far away from England for so long…" Bakura said. They were from England? So THAT'S why their voices were so weird!

"Don't worry, Bakura! I'll find a playmate for you! And with Auntie Mary taking care of you, I'm sure you'll be fine! Now, what do you like to play?" Miss Marian asked her nephew kindly.

"I like Duel Monsters!" Bakura said, getting his deck out of his coat pocket. I caught a glimpse at the card at the bottom of his deck, and gasped quietly. He had Change of Heart?

Suddenly, without thinking, I burst into the kitchen, and blurted out, "I'll be your playmate, Bakura!" Then, realising what I had just done, I slapped my hands over my mouth, and shrank back. Miss Marian, Mr. Bakura, and Bakura all just stared at me with blank expressions.

"Kiara, how long have you been listening to us?" Miss Marian asked me after a moment, a stern expression on her face. Miss Marian knew when she had to be firm.

"Only… only a minute! I'm sorry, Miss Marian! I didn't have self-control… But… I REALLY want to be Bakura's playmate for the week! He can stay with me and Akira for the time that he's here!" I offered. I REALLY liked Bakura so far.

"Do you like Duel Monsters?" Bakura asked me. He had a hopeful expression on his face. He walked to me with his deck in his hand, and he showed it to me. Among his cards were Change of Heart, Morphing Jar (Yikes! Gotta watch out for that one!), White Magical Hat, Just Deserts (That could RUIN me!), Lady of Faith (She's very pretty!)… Man! I'd better watch out for this deck!

"LIKE Duel Monsters? I LOVE Duel Monsters! Duel Monsters is basically my life! I can't live without Duel Monsters!" I said. "You have a REALLY great deck! You'd be a tough opponent, Bakura."

"It's settled, then! I would like Kiara to be my playmate for the week. I'll stay with her, too," Bakura said, a confident smile on his face.

"Alright then, Bakura. You'll be staying with Kiara for the week," Miss Marian said. "I'm assuming you're OK with this, Bobby?" Miss Marian seemed pleased that Bakura and I seemed to like each other.

"As long as Bakura's happy, I'm happy," Mr. Bakura said, a contented smile on his face. "Be a good boy, Bakura, and have fun."

"YAAAY!" Bakura and I shouted, excited for this new adventure that awaited us. "Kiara," Bakura said, "Will you help me with my luggage?"

"Of course, Bakura! I'm strong. I'll DEFINITELY be able to help you!" I said, a bit overenthusiastic. Bakura and I ran to the front door together. "I'll take the bigger suitcase!" I said. I (sort of) picket the larger of the two suitcases, and started dragging it across the hall.

"Are… are you sure you can handle that?" Bakura asked me, a sceptical look on his face. He didn't seem entirely convinced. I didn't care.

"Of course I can! I'm strong!" I said, continuing my dragging. "Come on! Get a suitcase! Hurry up! Gosh, you're slow, Bakura!"

"Alright then…" Bakura said, getting the other suitcase and walking to the stairs. We walked up the stairs together, and even though he could've gone much faster, Bakura went at my pace. This made me very happy, because it showed me that he was a nice person.

We finally reached my room. I opened the door, only to find Akira writing a song. Probably about this… Marik, was it? Whatever. "Just put your stuff right beside the dresser for now," I told Bakura. "Because, right now, I want to duel you!"

"OK!" Bakura said, dropping his suitcase in the specified area. He raced over to my bed, got his deck out again, and waited for me. I did the same, minus the waiting part.

"LET'S DUEL!" we said in unison. We had 2000 Life Points.


	6. It's Time to Duel!

"I'll start!" I said. "My draw!" I drew a card from my deck. YES! I was starting off with a great hand! "I set a monster facedown and end my turn," I said. Bakura had NO idea what I was planning… You see, the card that I had just put facedown was Night Assailant. You'll see its effect later.

"Alright then!" Bakura said. "My turn! I'll draw a card," he said, doing so, "and summon White Magical Hat and Lady of Faith in Attack Mode!" White Magical Hat had 1000 Attack Points and 700 Defence Points, while Lady of Faith had 1100 Attack Points and 800 Defence Points. "Now, I think I'll have White Magical Hat attack your facedown monster!"

"Thank you, Bakura," I said, once my facedown had been destroyed. "You just activated Night Assailants flip effect. It allows me to destroy one monster on your side of the field; and I think I'll destroy Lady of Faith!" Lady of Faith was sent to the Graveyard along with my Night Assailant.

"Fine then. I end my turn," Bakura said. "I'll have you know that Lady of Faith is my favourite monster, so you'll be seeing her again. And believe me: she won't be so easy to beat next time!" Wow. Lady of Faith was Bakura's favourite monster? Cool!

"My turn, now!" I said, drawing a card. "I summon Mad Archfiend in attack mode!" Mad Archfiend had 1800 Attack Points and 0 Defence Points. "I'll have him attack your White Magical Hat!" Mad Archfiend attack and destroyed White Magical Hat, sending him to the Graveyard and reducing Bakura's Life Points by 800. Bakura now had 1200 Life Points, while I still had a full 2000. "I end my turn."

"Good for you, Kiara! It seems you're not the rookie I thought you were!" Bakura said with a teasing smile on his face. "I'll set a monster facedown and end my turn. Your move, Kiara Night Gale!"

"I'll have you know that I've won three Little League Duel Monsters Tournaments in the area, Ryo Bakura!" I informed him, really heated up now. "I'll have Mad Archfiend attack your facedown!" The facedown card was destroyed, but Bakura was still smirking.

"It's my turn to thank you, Kiara," he said. "You just destroyed Morphing Jar. Its effect forces us to discard our hands and draw five new cards!" FRACK! I'd completely forgotten about Morphing Jar! Man… my anger must have blinded me. REGRET! REGRET!

"Grr…" I muttered, and discarded my hand. "You're lucky that I didn't have a very good hand!" This was very untrue. I had two End of the World Ritual Cards in my hand, AND Ruin, Queen of Oblivion, one of my favourite monsters. Now my Demise, King of Armageddon card would be useless… I drew five new cards. Whaddya know! Demise, King of Armageddon WAS THE FIRST CARD I DREW!

"My turn!" Bakura said after he had discarded his hand and draw five new cards. "I set a monster facedown, and I set another card facedown." What was Bakura planning? I pretty much hated him now, for making it pretty much impossible to summon two of my most powerful monsters. "That's all for now."

"You are SO dead, Bakura!" I said, drawing a card. YES! It was one of my most powerful cards: Dark Ruler Ha Des! "I summon Dark Ruler Ha Des in Attack Mode!" Dark Ruler Ha Des had 2450 Attack Points and 1600 Defence Points. "I'll have him attack your facedown monster!" Bakura's facedown monster was destroyed.

"You destroyed ANOTHER Morphing Jar, Kiara!" Bakura said. "Now, discard your hand and draw five new ones!" ANOTHER one? GEEZ! However, I did as the card (and Bakura) said, and discarded my hand. I then drew five new ones. Bakura did the same. "I'll end my turn," I said reluctantly.

"I think that YOU'RE the one who's dead, Kiara!" Bakura said. "I set a monster facedown, and then I'll activate my facedown trap card: Just Deserts! Now for every monster on your side of the field, you lose 500 Life Points!" Since I had two monsters on my field, I lost 1000 Life Points, leaving me with 1000 Life Points. "I'll end my turn," Bakura said.

"Good!" I said, drawing a card. BOO-YAH! It was my favourite monster in this deck! Dark Necrofear! "I summon my favourite monster, Dark Necrofear, in attack mode! Isn't she beautiful?" Dark Necrofear had 2200 Attack Points and 2800 Defence Points. "I'll have her attack your facedown monster!" There couldn't POSSIBLY be another Morphing Jar on the field! Bakura's facedown monster was destroyed.

"You just destroyed Electric Lizard, activating its flip effect! It prevents Dark Necrofear from attacking next turn, because she's not a Zombie-Type monster!" Bakura explained. NO! My Dark Necrofear! I couldn't use her on my next turn? ARGH!

"I'll end my turn! You will pay for that, Bakura! My beautiful Dark Necrofear… completely immobilized… How could you?" I was very angry. I loved Dark Necrofear like a sister. Now Bakura was REALLY going to go down! And I knew just how to do it, too!

"Hey, you destroyed Lady of Faith," Bakura said, drawing a card. "I set a monster facedown and end my turn." That was it? Seriously, what was he planning? Well… Whatever it was, it wasn't going to work! I was going to win this duel, whatever it took!

"Now, it's my turn!" I said, drawing a card. Perfect! It was just the card I needed to ensure my victory… "I'll have Mad Archfiend attack your facedown monster!" I said. Bakura's umpteenth facedown monster was destroyed. Now, what was this one's effect?

"You just destroyed Man Eater Bug!" Bakura said. "Now I can destroy one monster on your side of the field! And, I choose…" Don'tchooseDarkNecrofear, don'tchooseDarkNecrofear, don'tchooseDarkNecrofear… "Dark Necrofear!" ARGH! He chose it!

"My Dark Necrofear! NO! I hate you so much, Bakura!" I cried out, infuriated. "How dare you destroy my Dark Necrofear!" He would pay dearly for that! He was going to LOSE this duel! That's what he gets for destroying my Dark Necrofear! "You'll pay for that on my next turn! You'll pay dearly!"

"Oh, dear…" Bakura said, drawing a card. He had a slightly worried expression on his face. "I summon Lady of Faith in attack mode!" he said. "Then, I'll place two cards face down." I was glaring at him, a huge scowl on my face. "And… seeing as you'll probably beat me up if I don't, I'll end my turn."

"Yes, I would!" I said, drawing a card. "I'll have Dark Ruler Ha Des attack your Lady of Faith! Then, you'll be beaten, and I'll avenge my Dark Necrofear!" I said. I was sure that this attack would fail. But, that was part of the plan.

"Not so fast!" Bakura said. "I activate my two facedown cards: Shrink and Change of Heart. Shrink halves your Ha Des's attack points, and Change of Heart allows me to take control of one of your monsters! And, I choose Ha Des!" Ha Des's attack points decreased to 1225, and became Bakura's monster until the end of the turn. "I'll have the weakened Dark Ruler Ha Des attack Mad Archfiend!" Bakura said.

"But Dark Ruler Ha Des has less attack points than Mad Archfiend!" I said. "That would mean that Dark Ruler Ha Des would be destroyed, and I would lose… um… 575 Life Points!" And, that's exactly what happened. Oh well. My Life Points were reduced to 425, but, I still had my trump card. "Very well… I place one card facedown, and end my turn."

"Poor little Kiara," Bakura said, drawing a card. "I use the spell card Monster Reborn to Special Summon Dark Ruler Ha Des from YOUR Graveyard to my side of the field!" And so it was. I was hoping that Bakura would attack. "And now, I'll have him attack Mad Archfiend!"

YES! Perfect! "I activate my facedown trap card: Hate Buster!" I said, flipping the card over. "When a Fiend-Type monster on my side of the field is chosen as an attack target, I can activate this card! It allows me to destroy the attack target and the attacking monster, and the attacking monster's original Attack Points are dealt as damage to you!" Bakura's Life Points hit 0.

"I win."


End file.
